Fairways of Life is joined by Austin Smotherman, a Korn Ferry Tour Player who is red hot right now with 2 wins in the month of June. Austin has been a PGA Tour Player, and as he currently sits at the top spot of the KFT money list he is poised to earn back his PGA Tour card.
huge changes in the life of Austin’s Smotherman. Uh Austin is, and I’m gonna ask him this question. He’s playing great golf. Is it the best golf career? A strong argument can be made in that regard as well. Let me give you some of the stats of what Austin is doing here. He now has three corn furry tour wins, including two in this month. 171 career starts between the PGA Tour and the Cornferry Tour. 17 career top 10s. He’s currently first on the corn furry tour point standings and he’s effectively locked up his PGA Tour card for next year. He’s sixth on the corn furry tour in scoring average. Get this, at 68.3. And just in case you’re wondering, number one on the PGA Tour is Scotty Sheffller at 68.5. He’s fifth in greens and regulation. Ready for this number? Staggering. 78% greens and regulation. Turned pro back in 2016. and he is 31 years old. Austin, how you doing, my man? How’s life? That’s a that’s a pretty nice introduction. I appreciate it. Um life’s good, man. Um bright and early. Been at it this morning, waking the girls up and uh just finished a little family breakfast. So
So I promised you I was going to ask this question. Are you playing the best golf life right now? I I think so. Um we’ve uh we’ve worked hard to get to this point and to have to have these results come about and to be on this run um is uh I don’t even know how to describe it. I mean it’s just trying to stay in this bubble that we’re in and uh just keep doing the same things that Zach, my caddy and I are doing every week and you know wins stack up great and just good events is all we’re looking for.
When you say trying to stay in this bubble that we’re in, what does that mean? How do you define your bubble? you know, showing up to tournament weeks, there’s always so much, especially the better you play, you know, the more the more kind of the asks happen. Um, you want to uh you want to say yes to everybody and and that’s not always always the case. And he’s done a great job as far as getting me through my process as far as what our prep looks like Monday through Wednesday and then come Thursday, we always feel like we’re ready to go play and we just kind of just let it go and we free swing it and 72 holes later see where we fall.
Is that the way you would explain it? letting it go, free swinging it. I mean, what what changed? What what put you on this path that you’re on right now? Yeah. Um, probably the little bit of the relegation this year. Um, having to come back down to the corn ferry, having a taste of the PJ tour life for for three years and not just having a taste of it, but just feeling like, you know, it’s a place where we belong. Um, so many friends and and good buddies out there. Then you have uh you know guys I’ve played with since junior golf days that are having successes that you know I could kind of ask myself why is it not me? But you know my journey and my path as far as you know I see the stats right here 171 career career starts and you know a number of those on the corn ferry but um playing professional golf is such a blessing and to be able to do that day in and day out for my life as a career is I mean it’s pinch me moment um every day. All right. So, let’s look back at it, Austin, for a second from that PGA Tour perspective. You asked the question yourself. Why not me? Why wasn’t it you there? I think I, you know, God’s got me on a different path. Um, we’ve we’ve gone through PJ Tour Latin America and, you know, could have whatever kind of perspective and outlook on that as far as seeing it as a as a detriment or or a setback or kind of a a a challenge that I was ready to meet. But I honestly enjoyed my time starting off getting to play every level of the PGA Tour. Um different tours. Um the the growth as a player. I feel like when I made my way to the PGA Tour, it wasn’t just a rookie season, you know, I was a seasoned pro by then. I had a lot of scheduling stuff figured out, all these questions, and then it’s just kind of just getting comfortable and it just comes with time. And so, you know, not trying to change my process every single week because that’s when you start going through these spirals and you don’t you kind of lose your identity that I feel like I developed playing PJ tour Latin America cornfair years through COVID through all those those difficulties where we had our super season when I first graduated off uh the corn ferry to the PJ tour finishing number 25 in the regular season. and we spoke we spoke you know I think 2 weeks after that happened and when I was in Boise I remember sitting in an Airbnb just trying to get decent service to talk to you and I’m fortunate enough to get to be in my own home today to get to talk to you again
now that that identity that you forged in those early days did you lose it at some point did it diminish and have you found it again how would you define that
yeah gosh you know bits and pieces probably fall fall off here and there does it doesn’t mean that we don’t know what they are, but it’s just I think a nature to what the sport means um or what the sport is all about is you talked about a little bit earlier in the show is you know you eat what you kill. It’s uh there’s never there’s never a guarantee in the sport um as far as injuries, taking care of your body, bounces, mother nature out there affecting shots and and doing things that you just don’t expect that are completely out of your control. So just keeping those things front of mind present to where when things aren’t going your way, you can shrug them off and not have those start to build up and the next thing you know you’re two weeks into a little bit of a slump that we all go through. But hopefully you kind of have those intangibles that kind of get you back on track quicker than most. And I felt like I did that this last week. Sorry. When I when I won, I actually hit the ball pretty poorly on Saturday by my standards. And it’s so it was so hot last week in Springfield, Illinois. could barely hit any balls afterwards, just trying to rest up for a Sunday noon tea time. And I knew I had to be efficient. I had to figure out where the face was. I had to start working on it. I had to show up the next day with a plan because I didn’t have a lot of swings cuz I needed to be able to make them on course so I wasn’t going to waste any extra energy. Things like that that all, you know, build up and come coming down the stretch, I felt like I hit some of the best golf shots. You know, it’s interesting, Austin, because in my case, when I get a chance particularly to speak to young people, you know, everybody’s praying for talent. Everybody wants talent. Uh and and my personal feeling is that tenacity is a far greater commodity than talent because I think talent tends to sit and waits for the for the phone to ring a sense of almost an entitlement whereas tac tenacity doesn’t take anything for granted. Uh where do you fall in that spectrum? I’ve I’ve always considered myself a gamer, you know, um all the way back to my first win playing Fiji Tour Latin America down in Tijana, playing Tijana Country Club when I won the Mexico Open in 2018. I shot 77 on my Wednesday ProAm for 18 holes. And I proceed to go grind on the range and you know what happens? My eight iron head flies off in the middle of the range.
And it’s it is a complete like freak out moment. What is gonna happen? I don’t have an eight iron. It’s Wednesday night of tournament week and uh I play that whole week with no eight iron. I throw in an extra three iron just to have 14 clubs in the bag with my hybrid and I win by three. And I win by three.
Wow.
And it was like weird things like that happen. And but as far as being a gamer, you know, I think having that belief that your your best rounds Thursday through Sunday are are what matter. You know, I love playing great on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesdays, but in our sport, they don’t really get you too too much. Um, and so I felt like I was I was a gamer. I showed up Sunday this last week and whether I shot eight under, two under, you name it. Our goal was just to go out there and like I said, free swing it because we’ve we’ve earned that right as far as our our hard work and you know where we put ourselves on the points list going into last week and we almost didn’t even play. Um, we kind of had a little bit of a contingency plan if I had played really well in Witchah that I was uh possibly going to take that week off and go take two weeks at home and be ready to get back at it in Colorado next week. But I’m glad we played. Last week after Podrick Harrington won the US Senior Open, he I’m paraphrasing, but he he said a comment about to win on Sunday, you have to have as little stress as possible, which I thought was interesting because I don’t think that stress is something that as an athlete you always can control. You control, you can try to diminish it, but but it’s hard to control it.
Where are you at with your heart and your mind when it when it comes to controlling things like that? How much, for example, is it a reflection of of Jesse, your wife,
that you’re able to come out with a clear mind and perform as best you can?
I mean, complete. I mean, it starts starts in the home, you know, having having two young girls now, being a dad, having to be on the road and leave them and Cornferry not being the easiest uh tour to bring the family on just especially through this summer stretch just with the heat and whatnot. So, home life, having it all settled, just taking care of that and just having such a good team around me. I mean, I’ve got my coach, Cameron McCormack, who I’ve been with now since my sophomore year at college. So, I mean, we’re going on 12 years together at least. And, uh, just having him, having my my manager Richard in in the picture for a long long time and being more than just a manager, you know, being a good friend of me and and my whole family and just adopting us kind of as a, you know, extension of their family and here in Dallas with my whole family being in California and my wife’s family being in California. Um it’s it’s a combination of all them and then something else in this past year year and a half is I’ve actually been uh speaking with a mental coach kind of just personal everything and uh and that being her name’s Fanny Sussan who I’m sure you kind of recognize the name.
Um Fannie has been Fann’s been in my corner and been part of our team now for just under a year and uh I talk to her every day. Yeah, I’ve actually worked with Fanny quite a bit over the years. She she is an absolute classic. So, was there ever a time when the insecurities attacked? Was there ever a time that that you had doubt and you had to start to think of what if this doesn’t work? What’s next? A maybe a little bit. You know, I’m I’m blessed to have the support behind me as far as being here in Dallas and having all my SMU buddies, whether they are golfers or not, being at Trinity Forest, where the membership has been an extension of family. Um, and having the belief in me feel sometimes greater than my own than what I believe in myself I can do. And so those low moments, you know, they pull me out of it pretty quick. And, you know, they just go say, “Go play TF a couple times. Go shoot your typical scores out there. Come back. let’s just have a have a have a boy’s round, whatever it is, and you know, go back on the road. And so, keeping those those things at home consistent and having some kind of outlet as far as not letting myself start to spiral because I’ve got these foundations in place that uh help eliminate some of those insecurities. They’re never going to be fully gone. I mean, I’m sure even Scotty and Rory and top top five players in the world have them in some regard. And it’s never And I think keeping that perspective, too, you know, I mean, Scotty talks about it so much. I mean, just his his demeanor on and off the golf course and keeping things in line, you know, is a little bit of kind of how I try and view view everything around me.
If you could go back in time a decade or so, and talk to a young Austin Smotherman, what would you whisper in his ear? Just that you probably a little bit of the that you you can you can do this and that you believe you believe in yourself more and more and more every day. and just uh your your journey is your journey that I feel like I kind of had that idea um but maybe not solidified in my brain enough till till maybe now that you know these processes and this this journey I’ve been on as far as playing golf as a career and and part of my life so immensely is uh I get to I get to do this for hopefully as long as I can and you know what when when I got to hang it up whenever that is um I’ll be content with where my my career fell no matter what. Yeah, it’s wise to embrace it with the with gratitude. You are literally living the dream of of many, many, many millions of people right now. There’s no doubt about that.
What did you have to do? What did you have to work on in your game in particular, Austin, that not only allowed you to play as well as you are right now, but you’re on your way back to the PGA Tour again. What do you need to be ready for? Being on my game every single week. I mean, figuring out how to kind of rewrite the ship or correct the the ship if if we get off path a little bit a little bit quicker than what the corn ferry allows. You know, coming down to 100 players, it’s you see how cutthroat it is out there this year. Guys that you would expect to be in the top 100 maybe not being there and uh it comes down to not not uh not forgetting about every single shot um and how much it means out there. And so being able to not let that stress of what what the PGA Tour lifestyle can bring as far as a lot of uh lot of extra ass and and just the demands of of playing good golf. I mean you mentioned the scoring averages earlier. I mean I’m I mean Scotty’s 68 and a half on PJ tour courses is a little bit different than our corn ferry courses we play week in and week out but golf is still golf and you know when we’re making birdies like that we’ll we’ll take them in bunches.
Yeah. it. Since you brought up the narrowing of the funnel to use uh Peter Manad’s terminology, how do you feel about that coming back on the PGA tour knowing that it is significantly harder to keep yourself up there than what it has been for the last 40 plus years? Yeah, and it’s it’s a new challenge. Um, I think this season on the corn ferry has kind of helped me solidify a bit of the processes and the the prep like I mentioned with my caddy and understanding what Monday through Wednesday are all about to be ready to be able to have those free swings Thursday through Sunday. Um, to have it only be 100 guys, the narrowing of it. We get, you know, we get this opportunity to play the PGA Tour. I mean, it’s it’s I don’t know. I don’t know what else to say. Um, just just blessed. I guess
there’s little doubt about that. I do want to ask you about your sponsors before we say goodbye and thank you this morning. Austin, who have you aligned yourself with? I mean, I’m wearing one of my shirts right now. You know, trying to give them a little bit of air time as well. But, uh, you know, Sean Macaulay and the Macaulay company have been a big part of part of my career. Uh, Veritex Bank. Um, huge thanks to Malcolm Holland and the whole team there. They put on a great corn fairy event here in Dallas. and uh Churnney Forest, uh Rock Materials, uh Grayson Closers, um who else am I thinking? The First T. I mean, I got to give them a huge huge uh shout out as far as being a part of my life and helping me get here with a little bit more foundation and and uh you know, things that I want to embody kind of throughout the game and and when I see see kids and be able to give back. So, with all them, um, you know, I’m excited to to have these partnerships and and just keep doing what we’re doing.
Yeah, we’re very excited for you. Congratulations with success that you’re having. Uh, love that you like you’re embracing it with a big hug around gratitude and long may it continue, my friend. We wish you the very, very best. Matt, enjoy being on the show as always. You’re uh, awesome to listen to and uh, Fairways of Life, man. I mean, it’s I always sign off of all my emails. as I say, you know, best Austin Smotherin fairways and greens. It said almost 80% in that.
